The MNO Movie

2012 MNO Elections Yields Record Voter Turnout

MNO President Lipinski Re-Elected with Strong Mandate Across Province

President Lipinski speaks at the 2011 Annual General Assembly

May 15, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – The 2012 Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) elections were witness to a record number of MNO citizens participating in the elections of Métis leadership at the regional and provincial levels. With a total vote count of 2,286 ballots cast across the province, this election had three times the amount of MNO citizens participating in comparison to the 2008 MNO Elections.

Gary Lipinski was re-elected as MNO President with an impressive 87.2% of the total vote. He also had a majority of votes at every polling station, signifying a strong mandate from MNO citizens and communities across the province.

“I am honoured and humbled to receive this mandate,” stated President Lipinski, “It is gratifying to know that MNO citizens – across the province – support the results and momentum we have achieved together over the last 4 years. I am anxious to keep this momentum going!”

President Lipinski added, “This election has also given me, along with all of the MNO’s regional and provincial leadership, a strong mandate to continue to push forward on our Métis rights agenda. In my campaign, I stressed that progress needs to be made on this front, and this record voter turnout shows that our people are committed to a united MNO with a strong rights-based agenda.”

All the Executive positions on the Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario (PCMNO) were contested during the election as well as three Regional Councillor positions and the Postsecondary Student Representative position. Click here to view the complete results of the election.

“Everyone who ran as a candidate in this election, and those who voted in this election, contributed to making the MNO stronger,” commented President Lipinski, “I want to thank everyone who was part of our democratic process, including, all the candidates, our electoral officials and staff and especially the many volunteers who assisted the various campaigns, worked at polling stations, and assisted in the election in many ways.”

President Lipinski concluded, “I am looking forward to working with the new PCMNO and I want to congratulate everyone who was elected and re-elected in this election. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I believe we are well placed to make even more progress and history over the next 4 years.”